Price has been on the last two Anthony Joshua undercards, losing to Alexander Povetkin in Cardiff and then being forced to retire due to injury four rounds in against Sergey Kuzmin last time out at Wembley Stadium.

Tom Little is looking to get back to winning ways

Little has previously shared the ring with Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Filip Hrgovic and fast-rising heavyweight talent Daniel Dubois, who he took five rounds in June, and Price knows it is a must-win fight.

Price said: "This is a real fight. He's well schooled now and he's also as tough and game as they come. I can't go from fighting the likes of Alexander Povetkin and Sergey Kuzmin to fighting knock-over jobs because I need the threat in front of me.

Tale of the Tape - David Price vs Tom Little

"I know Tom Little really well and he knows me. We've done lots of rounds of sparring and I've seen him improve a lot during that time. He's certainly closed the gap that was between us when we first started sparring.

"With the heavyweight division, there are big fights everywhere. There are so many big names around and they all need dance partners. There are massive opportunities for the winner of this fight on offer.

"What awaits the victor is part of what will make this a cracking fight. Tom has a couple of losses in his last couple of fights and so do I, so we're both fighting for our careers in this one."

Little, 31, is also on the back of two defeats but the Hatfield heavyweight believes he will come out on top in the pre-Christmas cracker.

1:00

The countdown to the Sky Sports Box Office rematch between Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora is on...

The countdown to the Sky Sports Box Office rematch between Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora is on...

Little said: "I'm delighted and privileged to be fighting on such a great card. This is a massive PPV show on a massive platform in Sky Sports. I'm fighting a huge name and it's a dream come true to be honest.

"Not to discredit David but I think his last couple of losses have taken a lot out of him and that will be the difference on the night. I think I'm mentally stronger than David, he's going to let his last couple of defeats get to him whereas I'm just eager to put them behind me and move on.

"I'm willing to go to the deep and dark places to get the win. I'm expecting a very rough fight, it's going to steal the show. One way or the other, this fight won't be going the distance."

Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte meet again on December 22

Price against Little is the first heavyweight support act confirmed for The O2 Christmas cracker that sees Whyte and Chisora meet again, two years after their close-fought encounter in Manchester.

Also See:

Charlie Edwards gets a second shot at a world title when he challenges Cristofer Rosales for the WBC flyweight world title and British featherweight champion Ryan Walsh puts his Lonsdale belt on the line against Watford's Reece Bellotti, with further exciting fights to be announced soon.